Strictly Come Dancing The Live Tour, Arena Birmingham - review
Thousands of Strictly Come Dancing fans have been flocking to Arena Birmingham to see the stars of the hit show in all of their glittering, glamorous, gyrating glory.
And there's really just just one word to sum up the live experience, F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S.
From the moment the sequined curtain goes up and the disco ball descends the show scores 10s all round darling... as judge Craig Revel-Horwood might say.
With six shows in Birmingham alone - two more today and another tomorrow night - the love for Strictly is as strong as ever, despite the live tour now being in its 12th year.
And the show is as captivating as the TV programme, following the same formula with seven couples battling it out on the dance floor for the prized glitterball each night.
And while the judges - Craig Revel Horwood, Dame Darcey Bussell, Shirley Ballas and Bruno Tonioli - all give their verdicts to cheers (or boos in Revel Horwood's case) it's the audience that really decides who wins every night via text message.
TV presenter Stacey Dooley may have been victorious in the TV version at the end of last year but it is Joe Sugg and partner Dianne Buswell who have been winning a lot of the votes so far on the live tour - despite our texts in support of Dr Ranj - his Fireball dance was the highlight for us.
Although I must admit Joe and Dianne's rock 'n' roll dance to the Arctic Monkeys 'I Bet That You Look Good on The Dancefloor' was a stunner and the couple's chemistry both on and off stage shined through.
It was good to see AJ Pritchard looking well as he danced with Lauren Goodman after he was recently victim of a nightclub attack.
Ashley Roberts and Pasha Kovalev were also very impressive as were former Steps star Faye Tozer and Giovanni Bernice while cricket star Graeme Swann added some fun to the show with dancer Karen Clifton - Swanny's Samba to Soul Limbo knocked them for six.
Presenter Ore Oduba was the host on the night and also got to show off some of the moves that won him the Strictly title in 2016 - including showing off a daring tablecloth trick move.
Professional dancers Nadiya Bychkova, Luba Mushtuk, Graziano Di Prima, Johannes Radebe and Dudley-based Amy Dowden also joined the all-action line-up that will be touring the country over the next couple of weeks before the celebrities return to their day jobs and the real dancers head out on a professionals only Strictly tour in the summer. Phew!
